Gazpacho - Veggie Soup Recipe Video

 This recipe is for all you home gardeners! And my Gazpacho video is just in time for the end of summer vegetable harvest.

Even if you don't have a summer garden, all the veggies in this recipe are easily had from local farmer's markets and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. I get my ingredients from a local Latin grocery store, too. All are for less than a buck per pound.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Tomatoes are the most expensive veggie, but they often come on sale somewhere. Cucumbers and bell peppers are cheap, and onions are the cheapest veggie by far. I sometimes use garlic from the jar, but I also like a freshly chopped extra-pungent clove.

The other main ingredients are olive oil and vinegar. I get extra virgin olive oil in small bottles from my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. While not the best quality, hey it's good enough for me. And you can use any expensive olive oil, flavorful oil like avocado, or a nut-based one.

Gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup originally from Spain. They use Sherry Wine - use that if you can find it, but I find  Red Wine Vinegar is an easy substitution. It's okay to use any vinegar you have on hand like apple cider or white vinegar.

There is no cooking involved, all you do is roughly chop all the veggies to fit in a blender or food processor - you can use a hand blender. Pour in half a cup of olive oil and a couple tablespoons of vinegar, then blend it all together for a minute or so, until smooth and creamy.

I like to serve Gazpacho chilled and topped with a sliced fresh herb like basil. I add a sprinkling of fine-chopped tomato and cucumber for extra color and crunch.

The veggie balance is up to you. Some recipes call to peel and remove seeds from the cucumber. The cucumbers I've gotten lately are almost seedless, or the seeds are very small and soft. If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be a brighter red color.

I used green bell pepper, but any color on sale will do. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are a bit sweeter but more expensive.

Tomatoes are the main ingredient. So let them fully ripen on your kitchen counter or windowsill. I use a couple pounds of tomatoes, and you can use as much as you like with an extra-large crop to harvest. Adjust the veggie amounts to suit your tastes.

My patio garden tomatoes.

So get to chopping and blend my summer fresh Gazpacho Soup for a cool and refreshing appetizer or light lunch.

Gazpacho - Video

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 48 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Tomato - roughly chopped, about 3 to 4 cups. I used 4 regular-sized tomatoes.
• 1/2 Onion - roughly chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper - remove seeds and white membrane.
• 1 Cucumber - In some recipes just throw in a chopped and unpeeled cucumber with seeds. Okay to peel and remove seeds for a more colorful soup.
• Garlic - 1 teaspoon chopped. Fresh or from a jar.
• 2 tablespoons Wine Vinegar - usually sherry vinegar is used, but any type of vinegar will do.
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil - okay to use any favorite flavorful oil.

Directions
 Chop veggies to fit in a blender or food processor. The veggies don't need to be finely chopped, just a quick couple of slices will do. If you have a hand blender then put chopped veggies in a large bowl.

Remove the seeds and white membrane in the bell pepper. Some recipes say to remove cucumber skin and seed.  If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be brighter orange or red.

You can add or subtract the amount of garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cucumber. Just make sure to add plenty of tomatoes! I do remove the stem, but I keep the seeds.

Add veggies to a blender or food processor. Pour in a half cup of olive oil or your favorite flavored oil. It's okay to add more or less olive oil, to suit your tastes.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. I use Red Wine Vinegar, but it's okay to use any you have on hand including white, apple, and balsamic vinegar. Add as much or as little as you like.

Some recipes call for adding a slice or two of bread to the blender for a thicker soup. I leave it out for this recipe.

Cover and blend it all together until smooth and creamy, about one minute.

Chill Gazpacho until ready to serve. I like to top my Gazpacho with a fresh sliced herb and a small amount of chopped veggies like tomato and cucumber, for added crunch and a colorful presentation.